Law school had pressed pause over concerns course would soon be redundant

Image credit Instagram: @gidane.herts

The University of Hertfordshire has relaunched its Legal Practice Course (LPC) after previously suspending it over fears that a new centrally assessed “super-exam” would render it surplus to requirements.

Responding to the proposals at the time, the law school said it would offer a “revalidated” LLB to embrace SRA-led plans and prepare students for the super-exam. Justifying its decision, a university spokesperson said:

“We don’t feel we can charge £12,000 for a course that might not be valid in 2018.”

Now, almost two years on, the university has confirmed it has reinstated its LPC.

This follows the SRA’s decision to implement the SQE in 2020 at the earliest, and to introduce a transitional period that could see students complete the traditional route to qualification into the 2030s. In addition, the university believes that its relaunched LPC — which now costs £12,500 — would still adequately equip wannabe solicitors with the skills required to pass the new centralised exam.

Penny Carey, dean of Hertfordshire Law School, told Legal Cheek that she feels the current LPC “will still have currency in the years to come”. She continued:

“The SRA’s response to the proposal feedback indicated that it would not be introducing the SQE until 2020 at the earliest. Based on this, we took the opportunity to bring back an enhanced version of the LPC that allows students to also obtain an LLM through additional credits.”

4 Comments

Anonymous

Jan 9 2018 4:42pm

So it’s taking the SRA so long to launch to SQE that a uni is actually launching a new LPC in the meantime. Amazing

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Ciaran Goggins

Jan 9 2018 7:27pm

Yes, I recall the Uni lawyers are Knox, Mawer, Berryman. Not terribly good at covering up a proven false rape allegation on campus. Oops, almost a decade later and 7 million innocent folks DNA sample deleted under ECtHR legislation. That’s gotta hurt plod.

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Anonymous

Jan 11 2018 11:13pm

Another vocational uni with rock bottom entry standards bilking hopeful youths with no real career prospects out of tens of thousands in tuition. I’d be surprised if even the top 5% of their grads secure any route to qualification as a solicitor or barrister. Other than charging for tuition, what solid reason is there for adding to the saturated graduate market? Can’t even make the “extra competition in the LPC market is good for students” argument because they’re all priced the same. It’s essentially a cartel.

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MistletoeKisses

Jan 13 2018 9:15am

So they’ll be enriching those criminal scumbags at Kaplan some more I wager, like the QLTS and CPD scams.